Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Once bitten, twice shy.

For Bang Geng, he has been bitten by snakes several times and is afraid of ropes for ten years.

Having suffered too many losses in front of Wang Dong, he now feels scared when he hears Yi Zhonghai mention Wang Dong.

Especially after hearing that Yi Zhonghai was going to plot against Wang Dong again, in addition to the fear, there was also a hint of panic in his heart.

Yes... it's panic...

In his several battles with Wang Dong, he not only suffered repeated defeats, but also paid a huge price.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be in his twenties and still wasting time as an apprentice in a steel mill.

People of his age in Siheyuan are all married and have their own children.

There are even many young people who are four or five years younger than him who have already married and had children, but he is still single.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to get married, but no one likes him.

He had no house, no money, and even his job was as an apprentice.

When the girls in the city heard that he had been an apprentice in the steel mill for ten years without being hired as a regular employee and had already received two disciplinary actions, they almost turned around and left without giving Banggeng any chance to explain.

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were so worried about his marriage that they even looked for several rural girls, but none of them were interested in Bang Geng.

Although Banggeng didn't say anything, he was more anxious than anyone else.

I will soon complete my apprenticeship and become a full-time employee at the steel rolling mill. I was scared of the punishment I had received before, and now I don’t want to cause any trouble. I just want to be converted to a full-time employee safely and securely.

It will definitely be much easier to find a wife or go on blind dates in the future, and I won’t be looked down upon anymore.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Dad Yi..."

"I kind of don't want to bother with this anymore."

"If the new director really intends to liquidate Wang Dong's family after Director Li falls, Wang Dong will fall even without our report."

"His wife and sister-in-law will be affected to some extent."

"Or we should not participate."

"Those are things between the leaders. I'm going to be promoted to a regular employee soon. If I report Wang Dong to the new factory manager and something unexpected happens in the process, my promotion might be affected."

Yi Zhonghai was not affected by Banggeng's reminder. Instead, he stared at Banggeng and continued to instigate him: "Banggeng..."

"I am both your master and your stepfather... That's why I want you to come with me to the new factory manager to report Wang Dong. This is a token of our loyalty to the new factory manager so that we can share some of the credit with you."

“The steel mill has not conducted a grading test for many years, and no one knows how many years it will take for the next grading test to be conducted.”

"If you never pass the exam, even if you become a regular worker at the steel mill, you will only receive a salary of 22.5 yuan forever."

"But if we become the new factory manager's confidant because of our pledge of allegiance, maybe after you become a regular employee and stay in the position for a year or two, you can be promoted to team leader."

"If you stay in the position of team leader for a few more years, you can be promoted to deputy director of the workshop."

"I can also get a job as an official before I retire."

"As far as I know, when cadres retire, they receive a pension that is more than twice that of workers."

"My pension will be higher, and our family will have a much better life in the future."

"Haven't you had enough of these five years of hardship?"

"When I was a third-level fitter, I could only eat one meal every two or three days, if not every day."

"We can still have meat every two or three days."

"Since we were demoted and had our salaries reduced, we can only eat white flour buns every ten days or so, and it's considered good if we can eat more than two servings of meat a month."

"If we can use this token of our loyalty to curry favor with the new factory director, you can become a regular employee and I can become a cadre."

"Our family's monthly salary can at least double. Not to mention eating meat every meal, eating meat every two days is definitely no problem." "Don't you want to find a wife?"

"If we don't find a chance to turn our lives around, with our salaries, it will take us six or seven years to save up enough money to buy you a house in the courtyard, no matter how frugal we are."

"If we become the new factory director's confidants, I'll be a cadre and you'll be a regular employee. In a year at most, the salary we save will be enough for you to buy a house in the courtyard."

"I have my own house and I am a regular employee of the steel mill. I have the factory manager as my backer, and my salary has also increased."

"No one will dare to look down on you when you go out on blind dates in the future."

When Banggeng heard Yi Zhonghai talking about buying a house and going on a blind date, he, who had just calmed down, became excited again, but he still held back at the last moment.

After a moment of hesitation, he replied: "Dad Yi..."

"This matter is too big. I am a little afraid to take the risk of getting a permanent job."

"But my current salary is too low and I don't have enough money to buy a house. I want to go back and discuss it with my mom and grandma."

"As long as they nod, I will seize this opportunity and go with you to find the new factory manager to report Wang Dong."

There is nothing wrong with what Yi Zhonghai said just now to encourage Bang Geng.

As long as the new factory director wants to completely control the steel mill's kitchen, technical department, and financial department, toppling Wang Dong is indeed the easiest way.

They reported Wang Dong as a token of their loyalty, and as long as nothing unexpected happened, they would definitely be favored by the new factory director.

By then, whether Yi Zhonghai is promoted to deputy director of the workshop or Banggeng is converted to a regular employee ahead of schedule, everything will be a natural thing.

Yi Zhonghai dragged Banggeng along to report Wang Dong, and indeed gave Banggeng some benefits.

But Yi Zhonghai leaked a little.

What if things don’t develop as Yi Zhonghai said, and some unexpected event occurs in the middle, causing the credit to turn into a mistake.

If Yi Zhonghai takes Bang Geng with him to report Wang Dong, it will not be about sharing the credit, but about sharing the responsibility.

To put it more bluntly, it is to find a scapegoat for yourself.

Yi Zhonghai didn't dare to guarantee that what he was going to do next would be successful.

In order not to affect one's pension after retirement, one must pull up the stick to prevent accidents and completely cut off one's retreat.

When Yi Zhonghai heard Bang Geng say that he wanted to go back to Qin Huairu to discuss this matter, a solemn expression quickly flashed across his face.

Compared with Bang Geng, the white lotus Qin Huairu is obviously much more difficult to fool.

He had to think of various reasons in advance to persuade Qin Huairu, and even had to deal with various questions raised by Qin Huairu.

Banggeng is his only son and will soon be promoted to an official position. Without a suitable reason and sufficient benefits, Qin Huairu will never let Banggeng take risks easily.

…………

The east wing in the front yard of the quadrangle.

As soon as Wang Dong picked up the bowl of rice, his sister-in-law Chen Li asked nervously, "Brother-in-law..."

"It's spreading around the office that Director Li is going to fall soon."

"Could this be true?"

"Some people also say that you are Director Li's confidant. If Director Li falls, you will definitely be affected."

"I'm your sister-in-law, and I will be affected as well."

"In the past two days, several colleagues have been afraid of being associated with me, and they avoid me when they meet me on the road."

(End of this chapter)